ALICE ADAMS MELCHER

MOSCOW – Alice Adams Melcher, 77, passed away at her son’s home in Bowdoin on April 20, 2004, after a lengthy battle with Parkinson’s Disease. Alice, daughter of Herbert K. and Lydia M. Adams, was born on April 4, 1927, in Bowdoin, and was raised on the Adams Homestead in Bowdoin, the family dairy farm, where her brother and sister still reside. After completing grammar school at the one-room Adams Schoolhouse in Bowdoin, Alice attended Brunswick High School, graduating in 1944. In 1948, she graduated from Gorham State Teachers College, and upon graduation, she left Maine to serve in the U.S. Indian Service. For four years, Alice taught school on a reservation in South Dakota. Upon returning to Maine, Alice moved to Bingham, where she taught at Quimby Elementary School. It was in Bingham where she met her husband, William Melcher, and they were married on June 27, 1953. After taking a hiatus from teaching in order to raise a family, Alice returned to teaching at Quimby Elementary, where she taught from 1969-1987. Alice will be remembered as an energetic woman who loved the outdoors and embraced life with enthusiasm. An avid gardener and fruit grower, Alice created a large vegetable garden with blueberry and raspberry patches, and during the summer months, she could usually be found tending her garden. She was also an amateur beekeeper and, in the spring, a harvester of maple syrup. Alice was equally adept in the kitchen, and her pies, despite their sometimes-lopsided appearance, had a reputation for being superbly delicious, and were always the first to be sold during fundraising activities. Alice also loved bicycling, taking several bike tours to Pennsylvania, Washington State, Massachusetts, Nova Scotia, and France. She also worked to obtain the Presidential Fitness Award for cycling. Alice and her husband also enjoyed canoeing, taking trips down the Allagash and Moose Rivers. Alice was also a skilled horsewoman, and enjoyed cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. An adept athlete and competitor, Alice participated in many sports and was the catcher for the Bingham Women’s Softball Alumni Team, and was admired for her batting ability and ball handling skills. She also coached basketball and softball. Alice and her family and friends spent many challenging and pleasurable afternoons playing softball, ice hockey, and touch football. Alice will also be remembered as a voracious reader, and lover and reciter of poetry and Shakespeare. An enthusiast of piano music, she often played duets with her children. She also enjoyed the challenge of crossword puzzles, math games, and was an enthusiastic Scrabble player, especially against her best friend and Scrabble rival, Rachel Lopez, who passed away previously. Alice also enjoyed working with her hands, and took classes in small engine repair and carpentry. When-ever she lacked the apparatus or the means by which to haul firewood or sap, or to complete some other job, she would get her tools and some wood and “whap something up.” No task seemed impossible to her. As a teacher, Alice brought innovation and creativity to the classroom. Her students learned to use Chinese abacuses, were introduced to Orienteering, took weekly hikes to the town library, competed in chess tournaments, published a class newsletter, and sold popcorn to raise money for books. On a few occasions, her class would hike through the woods for a day of fun and games at the Melcher residence in Moscow. Alice was able to fulfill her childhood dream of traveling, and spent some exciting vacations in France, Greece, England, and Switzerland, as well as traveling to Alaska, California, and Washington State. In addition to her other accomplishments, Alice also was a member of the Forestry Wives Club, the Century Club, the PTA, and served on the Bingham Library Board of Directors. She taught Sunday school for many years at the First Congregational Church in Bingham, and was a Girl Scout Leader. Alice’s husband, William, passed away in 1983. Left to carry on the legacy of living life with passion and commitment are Alice’s children, Sally A. Melcher of Seattle, Wash., Kurt A. Melcher and his wife, Carolyn, of Bowdoin, Rachel L. Tremblay and her husband, Michael, of Moscow, Susan E. Melcher and her chap, Tom Swan, of Manchester, and Samuel E. Melcher and his wife, Lisa, of Bowdoin. Alice also leaves behind a sister, Frances Adams of Bowdoin; and two brothers, Donald Adams of Bowdoin, and Frank Adams of Buckfield. Alice will be missed by her beloved grandchildren, Misti Roberts of Fort Collins, Colo., William and Eloise Melcher of Bowdoin, and Mikaela and Allison Melcher, also of Bowdoin; and her stepgrandchildren, Samantha and Jake Tremblay of Moscow. Memorial visitation will be from 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, April 28, at Giberson Funeral Home, 18 River St., in Bingham. A memorial service will be held 1 p.m. Thursday, April 29, at the First Congregational Church on Meadow Street in Bingham. Donations may be made in Alice’s memory to the American Parkinson’s Disease Association, Maine Chapter, at the following address, APDA, care of Carl Baker, Pres., 17 Blueberry Lane No. C21, Falmouth, ME 04105.